Reuters Health News Summary

August 25, 2012|Reuters

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Pig parasite may help treat autoimmune disorders

BOSTON (Reuters) - If you had a chronic and potentiallydebilitating condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn'sdisease, and swallowing the eggs of a pig parasite could help,would you do it? The team at Coronado Biosciences Incis betting you would.

Alaska, concerned about gold miners' health, to test themfor mercury

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska health officials,concerned about amateur miners seeking riches in a modern-daymini gold rush, plan to test prospectors in the town of Nomefor mercury exposure for fear that archaic mining techniquesmay be inadvertently harming their bodies. The Bering Sea porttown of Nome has been a magnet this summer for goldprospectors, some of them with little experience, in a boomthat state officials attribute in part to publicity fromDiscovery Channel's reality TV show ``Bering Sea Gold'' and othermining shows set in Alaska.

Greek study finds e-cigarettes no threat to heart

MUNICH (Reuters) - Electronic cigarettes, an increasinglypopular option among smokers trying to quit, do not appear topose a threat to the heart, according to results of a clinicalstudy presented on Saturday. Greek researchers saide-cigarettes - battery-powered metal tubes that transformliquid laced with nicotine into vapour - had no adverse effectson cardiac function in their small trial.

Gynecologists alarmed by plastic surgery trend

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Trained as a gynecologist andreconstructive surgeon, Dr. John Miklos calls himself a''medical tailor,'' specializing in surgery to reshape a woman'sprivate parts. The Atlanta surgeon, who has performedgynecological surgery for nearly 20 years, cites cases ofpatients who say their sexual response improved aftervaginoplasty, a procedure to surgically tighten a vaginastretched by childbirth or aging.

Link between ADHD meds and smoking still hazy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Do ADHD drugs help steer kidsaway from cigarettes? Or do they actually make youngsters withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder more likely to pick upthe bad habit? In a new report, researchers say they might havefound some signs of the former, but they also acknowledge thatthe evidence is extremely weak.

Exercise may temporarily ease cigarette cravings

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smokers who are trying to quitmight want to take a jog the next time a cigarette cravingovertakes them, a new research review suggests. Looking at 19past clinical trials, researchers found that a bout of exercisegenerally helped hopeful quitters tamp down their nicotinecravings. Whether that all translates into a greater chance ofquitting, though, is unclear.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests men withadvanced prostate cancer may live longer in the ``PSA era'' thanthey did before the screening test began to gain a foothold inthe early 1990s. The findings - which a leading cancer expertsaid were problematic - stoke the heated debate over prostatecancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA)test. Many researchers now fear routine testing may lead toaggressive treatments that do more harm than good.

Judge pares down Clorox cat litter lawsuit

2012-08-25T002821Z_1_BRE87O00U_RTROPTC_0_US-CLOROX-LAWSUIT.XML() -

U.S. court strikes down graphic warnings on cigarettes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Fridaystruck down a law that requires tobacco companies to usegraphic health warnings, such as of a man exhaling smokethrough a hole in his throat. The 2-1 decision by the court inWashington, D.C., contradicts another appeals court's ruling ina similar case earlier this year, setting up the possibilitythe U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the dispute.